City of Livonia expecting to fill several top posts

It’s a flurry of activity this spring in the civil service office at Livonia City Hall.

There are several positions with interviews scheduled this month for new city employees, including the parks and recreation supervisor.

Denise Maier, the city’s head of civil service, said three candidates have been recommended to the parks commission for interviews to fill that job, one last permanently held by Lyle Trudell, who retired last fall.

Since his retirement, the position has been filled by interim director Dave Varga, former director of administrative service in the mayor’s office, who was appointed to the position.

Maier said the candidates will interview with the commission before one is recommended for approval. Maier could not state whether Varga was a candidate or not.

“There were a total of seven that passed the exam and we send the top three to the commission,” said Maier, who replaced former director Bob Biga earlier this year. “I know the commission is anxious to get it filled.”

Also in the interview stages are the two newly created positions in city hall, purchasing manager and economic development coordinator. Those positions were created after funds were allocated in the city’s budget for this year and approved by the city council.

Maier said interviews for purchasing manager were conducted this past week and interviews for the economic development coordinator position are planned for the week after Memorial Day.

The economic development salary will start at $55,556 and max out at $65,000, depending on the level of experience. The salary for the purchasing manager will start at $63,897 and increase to a maximum of $74,984.

It’s Maier’s hope that all three positions could be filled well before the fall.

“Definitely by the end of the summer,” she said. “They’re moving along nicely.”

Elimination of one position

Expected for approval at Monday’s city council meeting is the consolidation of two supervisor positions into one.

The civil service commission recommended at its April 22 meeting that the supervisor of parks and forestry and supervisor of roads and traffic be merged into one, creating the roads and parks supervisor position.

Council is expected to approve that change, voting on it along with several items on its consent agenda Monday night during its regular meeting.

That creation was something eyed for a while, Maier said, with the parks and forestry supervisor position being open. The April retirement of Doug Haskin, who was roads and traffic supervisor, allowed for the commission to propose merging the two jobs.

“We were basically waiting for the retirement to consolidate the two positions,” she said. “Then that will be one position less that we’ll have to fill.”

That position will have a salary range similar to the previous supervisor jobs, with the low end starting at $62,566 and the top end capping at $73,008.